Las Vegas Convention Center reveals design for $860M expansion

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Dive Brief:

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority has revealed the venue's $860 million expansion design, part of a $1.4 billion overhaul that will connect the convention center to the Las Vegas Strip, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The new space and related redesign are expected to draw more than 600,000 additional visitors a year to the convention center, the Las Vegas Sun reported.

The roofline's ribbon design will flow through the convention center, part design feature and part guide for those making their way through the new, larger venue. The expansion will feature a new 600,000-square-foot exhibition hall, its own entryway and a rooftop terrace. Designers have also made allowances for a future people mover that would ferry visitors between the new exhibition hall and the other four renovated halls, although such a transportation system is not part of the current budget.

The new hall should be ready in 2021, and then crews will tackle the rehab of the four existing halls. The project, which is partially funded by the same hotel-tax increase that will help pay for the new $1.8 billion Raiders stadium, is expected to create nearly 14,000 construction jobs.

Dive Insight:

When the authority approved the expansion back in June of 2017, Las Vegas officials projected that it would add $1.4 billion to the area economy during construction and $840 million per year once the venue is complete. In November, convention center officials selected Atlanta-based TVS Design to shape the look of the full 1.4 million square foot expansion, plus the renovation, under an agreement that is expected to total 7% to 9% of the construction contract.

The Strip, a perennial Las Vegas hot spot, will also connect to other high-profile projects currently underway or in the planning stages.

The Las Vegas Raiders will pay for pedestrian bridges or underpasses connecting its new stadium to the Strip. In addition, New York developer Steve Witkoff has revived the stalled $2.5 billion Fontainebleau Las Vegas resort project, located directly on the Strip, and will complete it under The Drew name. The 4,000-room complex will move forward using Marriott International's Edition and JW Marriott hotel brands.

Also planned for the Strip is the Madison Square Garden Co.'s and the Las Vegas Sands' 18,000-seat, high-tech spherical arena. The MSG Sphere Las Vegas will have a programmable exterior with an estimated 36 miles of LED lights. Also, the interior screen, with 250 million pixels and a 19,000 by 13,500 resolution, will make it the largest high-definition screen ever.